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Selling your first place in Charlotte? Then HGTV is looking for you!

My First Sale, the popular HGTV show, is looking for first-time home sellers (and their real estate agents!) in the Charlotte, NC area.

We are looking for fun, high-energy first-time home sellers who are just starting the process of selling their first place!  Our cameras will be there to capture all the trials and tribulations, stress and success of prepping for sale, pricing, negotiating, and ultimately selling a home for the first time.

Taping will begin in Fall 2010 and will continue through Spring 2011.  Ideal candidates will be motivated, financially candid people who want to share the experience with the world!  Singles, couples and families are all invited to apply!

HGTV is looking for first-time home sellers with a great story who currently live in the home they are selling! Also, make sure your realtor is 100% on board with the show as they are a huge part of your story.

For more information or an application contact:

Marybeth Brush, mbrush@highnoontv.com.

Charlotte restaurant week is here again from July 16th-25th. It is your chance to partake in some of Charlotte’s finest dining establishments. Their are 88 restaurants to choose from in all parts of Charlotte.

We sat down with Bruce Hinsley to talk about what is restaurant week and all the hidden gems people should try.

Contest

We have gift certificates to some of the hottest places during restaurant week and you can win them by sending your best picture of your favorite restaurant week dish.

Grab your phone this week while enjoying your amazing meal and snap a quick pic. Then send it to “@cltblog” on Twitter with the tag “#CRW“.

That’s it. We will check out the photos and choose our favorite and you will receive a $50 gift-card to either Blue, Providence Cafe, The Capital Grille, or Pewter Rose.

Get out those camera phones and send in the deliciousness.

*The gift certificates were provided by Charlotte Restaurant Week and they are advertising on the site.

The 6th edition of Charlotte Pecha Kucha Night went down this past Friday. Pecha Kucha Night continues to evolve and always showcases some of the best and brightest in the QC. Earlier this year, Charlotte Pecha Kucha was selected the city’s “Best Creative Gathering” in the Charlotte Magazine “Best of the Best” awards. PKN CLT is presented by Point8 Forum and, for the second time in a row, a packed Dharma Lounge hosted. Douglas Welton again served as MC for the event. Below is the list of presenters.

Natalie Bork
Crista Cammaroto
Ana Jofre
Jason Kierce
Robert Kosara
Jack Ossa
Carlos Salum
Cathy Sheafor
Wolly Vinyl
Mike Wirth

So, we CLTBlog.com folk volunteer for a lot of stuff around town if you haven’t guessed already. One thing we’re regularly involved with is Pecha Kucha (@PKNCLT) and tonight is one event we really encourage everyone in Charlotte’s creative class to attend. Tonight we’ve got presenters speaking on a wide range of topics from physics to art and design.

Point8 Forum, the organization that brought Pecha Kucha to Charlotte, gives it’s presenters, who are an eclectic, evolving hodgepodge of Charlotte’s great creative talent, the following guidelines (which I am including to help explain this very unique event):

The only restriction is the number of images (20) – and the time you have for each slide (20 seconds each). So you are limited to 6 minutes 40 seconds.

But beyond that there aren’t that many restrictions. No subject is off limits, all points of view [are] allowed. It will be you, your subject, and the audience. So, you can come to vent, promote, posture, or proselytize… (Some of the things allowed include… talking, singing, hopping around on one leg, remaining silent, looking kinda intense, letting your puppet do the talking… not that we expect you to do all/any of that. Just reminding you that these options are out there…)

The hashtag for tonight is #pknclt6. Here’s the list of speakers from the Point8 Forum website:

Natalie Bork
Crista Cammaroto
Ana Jofre
Jason Kierce
Robert Kosara
Jack Ossa
Carlos Salum
Cathy Sheafor
Wolly Vinyl
Mike Wirth
Douglas Welton will be back as our MC for Volume 6.

DHARMA Lounge, 1440 South Tryon, Ste. 105, Charlotte, NC.
FRIDAY July 16, 7:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. Doors open at 7:00.
Admission is $5 at the door. Cash bar. The Common Market will be selling light food & snacks.

For those of you who were too late to register to attend TEDxCharlotte, this is your chance to come see a nice cross section of people who will also be presenting in September! If you’re interested in which speakers will also be presenting at TEDxCharlotte, here’s the link to their speakers list.

We hope to see you there and feel free to come say hi! I’ll be manning the Pecha Kucha newsletter sign-up table handing out buttons (don’t forget to pick one up, they’re different every time), Matt Tyndall is running the presentation visuals and local celeb/photographer James Willamor will be on hand snapping photos (He’s the official photographer)!

“It is folly to pretend that the world is anything but absurd”

… says Matt Cosper, co-founder of Charlotte’s Machine Theater, playwright and author of ThomThom (if that bird won’t sing). “Providing the ability to laugh in the face of absurdity and directly encountering our fears in the theater can provide some structure to the madness in our world.”

Theater goers will find plenty of madness and outright buffoonery in Cosper’s work and Machine Theater’s production of ThomThom which opened last evening to an enthusiastic and respectably numbered crowd at the Duke Energy Theater in Spirit Square.

Want to go? Performances July 8, 9, 10 15, 16, 17 at 8pm
Duke Energy Theater at Spirit Square
Tickets $15, buy online

With ThomThom, Machine celebrates their one year anniversary and fourth production in Charlotte, no small feat in a town that seems loathe to support small, regional theater. Coming off their dark comedy Mum’s the Word earlier this year, Machine has jumped headlong into a realm that requires its audience to suspend their beliefs at the door and allow this performance to rush over them in waves.

Where MTW challenged head on suburban ideals and the institution of marriage through sarcasm and innuendo, ThomThom offers the subtlety of the triple pimento-cheeseburger at the Penguin. The farce is simply too grand to ignore and too bizarre to microscopically analyze.

Refugees from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Jean Louise (Julia Grigg) and Arthur Radley (Robert Haulbrook) are lost in an indeterminate vast forest, searching for home, family and much more than is readily apparent. Arthur offers Jean Louise paternal guidance and comfort in place of direction and true safety as the pair find themselves overwhelmed and somewhat smitten by a collection of vagabonds and misfits that nefariously haunt the same environs as the lost pair.

Jean Louise soon turns cynical and desirous of more than stories of geese flying over snowy fields. There to offer her adventure and excitement that only wizardry can bring is Thom (Barry Newkirk), the youngest and most naive of the motley crew assembled by the very evil and power hungry Magisterial Cort (Cosper in a deliciously dark performance).

Cort’s court is rounded out by Red (in a wonderfully physically comic portrayal by Jeremy Shane), an ever questioning and malcontent Lizzie (Mimi Harkness), and Kate (Barbie VanSchaik) the sagacious alter ego to Cort.

With each possessing foibles and insecurities that would keep Dr. Phil busy for years, the ensuing ego massaging, put downs, power grabs and double dealing make for standout performances at virtually every turn.

Shane is perfectly oafish and over the top as Cort’s clownish number two man. His first act poetic recital and tribute to his father is a screaming riot, both campy and sarcastic. VanSchaik has a face that contorts in ways reminiscent of Charlie Callas. She says more with a look and furrowed brow than many actors can with Shakespearean dialogue.

Cosper saved the most devilish role for himself and deftly captures the maniacal persona of the play’s main foe. His campfire soliloquy stating that “we must be willing to horrify” was chilling.

The wild ride is directed by Machine co-founder Barney Baggett. He brings his love for physical theater front and center as there is seldom a moment where actors are not climbing, running, jumping or dancing. Original songs and music are provided by Machine’s music-man, Jon Lindsay. They work some of the time, hampered by the inability of the cast, save Harkness, to sing.

Don’t let that minor distraction deter you however, as this performance offers theater goers the real deal; Solid writing, fun staging, grand performances all around and just a bit to ponder at the end of the evening.

With our metro population well over one million, performing arts of this caliber should be thriving, not struggling, yet all but the most mainstream and large traveling performances seem to fill our theaters. Time will tell whether Machine can garner the kind of support and following needed to sustain this type of craft in the Queen City.

As the final curtain drops, you may ask yourself if you just attended a funeral or a wedding. The answer? Yes.

watch this video in HD on YouTube

The Discovery Place crew have been hard at work retooling and renovating for some 18 months now, and this weekend it all wraps up with the opening of World Alive (an aquarium and rainforest exhibition) and Fantastic Frogs.

Best of all, admission is free! Saturday is for Discovery Place members only, and Sunday is open to the public.

We stopped in a little ways back to check out some of the new additions, including a few of my favorites: a 3,000 rpm gyroscope that you have to feel to believe, a couple Microsoft Surface installations, and a somewhat internet-famous multi-touch sound and music controller called a Reactable, which Discovery Place was lucky enough to snag once the creators started selling them last year.

Check out the video above for our tour, and clips of the new installations. And come on out this weekend, we’ll be there!

As the sun continues to punish Charlotte with it’s relentless rays of unbearable heat, isn’t it nice to hear of a way to spend the evening out, somewhere cool and entertaining?  Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the laugh a minute Five Course Love.

Actor’s Theatre of Charlotte is a character-rich locale just off 277 on Stonewall.  Easy to find (it’s even listed in your GPS), free parking, and on a muggy night in the Queen City, just as entertaining as the big boys.

Five Course Love takes us on a journey through 5 restaurants, each uniquely informal.  From a typical barbecue shack to a Mexican cantina and beyond, 3 actors sing and dance through their 15 different personas with contagious energy and style.

Writer Gregg Coffin has blessed us with an upbeat, peppy spectacle that is most certainly, a full blown musical.  I was amazed how the music really is the show.  I had anticipated yet another story with a song or two thrown in for fun.  Instead, we receive voices, choreography, acting and humor.  The writing itself is the true star in Five Course Love.  While not the most cerebral of humor, the silliness stands on it’s own, and is not just something Mr. Coffin had to throw in, because he couldn’t think of anything witty to say.  The script works, and works well.  The audience hangs on every whimsical word.

For those of you old enough to remember, this production has the feel of an old Carol Burnett sketch.  I couldn’t help but think of Davidson graduate Maret Decker Seitz as a young Carol, with a powerful voice, outstanding comedic timing, and a knack for slapstick.  Maret showed astonishing versatility as Barbie (the fun loving Texan), Sophia (right out of Jersey), and my personal favorite Gretchen (complete with boots and riding crop). There are more characters, but I never got past the boots… oh my!

Flanking Maret’s side are Jon Parker Douglas and Joe Klosek.  As Harvey Korman and Tim Conway were equals on the stage with Carol Burnett, Jon and Joe are stars as well.  The teamwork and camaraderie these three share is more than just a job, or a show.  These people are friends, and allow us to be a part of it.  Sure, the accents tend to drift, props play a huge role, and sometimes we’re laughing at them rather than with them, but it’s a comedy.  As long as we’re laughing, they’re doing an awesome job!

Jon didn’t seem very comfortable in the opening scenes as buckaroo waiter Dean, nor as mobster Gino, but that quickly changed.  His energy soared as Klaus, the bondage loving partner of both Gretchen and Heimlich (cough).  Watching Jon in the show’s finale was a riot, and alone, worth the price of admission.

Joe is the better actor of the three, and his vast experience shines through every time he takes the stage.  His portrayal of almost-but-not-quite-Third-Reich-loving Heimlich (cough) is a comedic memory I will have stuck in my head for a long, long time.  At one point, during a mostly staged mustache malfunction as Carlo the non-informant waiter, Joe was just about to crack himself up, and Maret was close behind.

Also, I also had no clue I was in for such a choreographic treat!  Christy Edney surprised me with not just basic steps, but actual dance and a professional flow from curtain to curtain (well, there are no curtains… you know what I mean).  With so many local productions failing to move their actors around the stage, I was thrilled with this performance.  The hard work by everyone on and off stage really comes through.

On the way out, I found myself checking my schedule to see if I have a free night to come back and see it again.  If that’s not the Mitch Metz stamp of approval, I don’t know what is.  Five Course Love is an upbeat musical comedy with great actors, a solid script, and a boatload of laughs.  Come on out to Actor’s Theater of Charlotte before this gem closes  July 3rd.  You will absolutely love it.

For more info, some videos, and tickets, visit the Actor’s Theatre website.

Grammy-nominated vocalist Jordin Sparks kicked off The Battlefield Tour on June 2nd and is stopping though Charlotte to sing. Lucky for us she agreed to answer some questions I couldn’t wait to ask! I’m a big Jordin Sparks fan mostly because she’s one of the performers that keeps her name out of the gossip rags, takes on a lot of good causes and uses her influence as a pop star positively. She’s performing at The Filmore this Sunday! Tickets are $25 bucks.

On to the interview!

DK: What was it like working with Chris Brown on “No Air”?
JS: IT WAS AMAZING. I HAD SUCH A GOOD TIME SHOOTING THE VIDEO. EVERY TIME THEY
YELLED ‘CUT!’ WE WOULD BUST OUT LAUGHING. I THINK HE’S IMMENSELY TALENTED
AND AM SO GLAD HE WAS ON THE SONG WITH ME.

DK: What is it like being so young and being viewed as such an influencer of
young women?
JS: IT’S SO COOL TO SEE MY FANS OF ALL AGES AND THEM SAY THEY LOOK UP TO ME.
IT’S VERY HUMBLING.

DK: It’s wonderful that you’re involved with X The TXT campaign. Please tell us
about the program.
JS: I GOT INVOLVED WITH ALLSTATE LAST YEAR WHEN THEY ASKED MY MOM AND ME TO BE A PART OF THEIR CAMPAIGN. WE TEAMED UP TOGETHER TO SHOW THAT TEXTING AND
DRIVING NOT ONLY EFFECTS PEOPLE MY AGE BUT MY MOM¹S GENERATION AS WELL. X
THE TXT IS ALL ABOUT STOPPING TEXTING AND DRIVING. IF THERE ARE HANDS FREE
LAWS AGAINST BEING ON A PHONE CALL WHILE DRIVING, IT ONLY MAKES SENSE TO
HAVE NO TEXTING LAWS. ITS JUST AS DISTRACTING, IF NOT MORE, THAN TAKING A
CALL BEHIND THE WHEEL. IT’S ALL ABOUT MAKING OUR STREETS SAFER. CURRENTLY,
ALLSTATE X THE TXT IS ON TOUR WITH ME AND WE HAVE A BOOTH WHERE MY FANS AND
PARENTS CAN TAKE THE PLEDGE TO NOT TEXT AND DRIVE. IF THEY CANT MAKE IT TO A
SHOW, THEY CAN TAKE THE PLEDGE AT FACBOOK.COM/THUMBSUPPLEDGE.

DK: What’s the trick to maintaining your sanity with such abrupt fame?
JS: MY FAMILY AND THE PEOPLE I SURROUND MYSELF WITH. HANDS DOWN.

DK: Who would you most like to work with?
JS: FERGIE, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, CELINE DION, DAVID ARCHULETA, ETC.

DK: What can Charlotte expect during your “The Battlefield” tour stop here?
JS: WELL, I DON’T HAVE CRAZY PROPS, A MILLION DANCERS OR INSANE COSTUMES. IT’S
JUST ME, MY BAND AND THE MUSIC. WE HAVE A BLAST UP ON THE STAGE SO I HOPE
YOU GUYS DO TOO!

DK: Do you have a favorite place here in Charlotte you like to visit while on
tour?
JS: I HAVEN’T HAD MUCH TIME TO EXPLORE THE CITIES I VISIT BUT HOPEFULLY THIS
TIME I’LL FIND SOME PLACE!

DK: What is your pre-show prep routine?
JS: I WARM UP, HAVE A FEW MEET N GREETS, DO MY OWN MAKEUP, GET DRESSED AND PRAY
WITH MY BAND.

DK: What’s the weirdest thing on your rider?
JS: MY RIDER IS ACTUALLY PRETTY NORMAL. CHIPS AND SALSA, APPLES, THROAT COAT
TEA, VEGGIE AND FRUIT PLATES. JUST SOME LIGHT STUFF. I CAN’T EAT BEFORE I
PERFORM. I FEEL LIKE I CAN¹T GET THE NOTES OUT AND PERFORMING ON A FULL
STOMACH IS NEVER A GOOD IDEA FOR ME ANYWAY. I EAT MAYBE JUST A FEW BITES TO
KEEP MY ENERGY UP AND THEN I’LL HAVE CHICKEN OR SOMETHING AFTERWARDS.

That’s it! Thank you Jordin, see you Sunday!

Grammy-nominated vocalist Jordin Sparks kicked off The Battlefield Tour on June 2nd and is stopping though Charlotte to sing. Lucky for us she agreed to answer some questions I couldn’t wait to ask! I’m a big Jordin Sparks fan mostly because she’s one of the performers that keeps her name out of the gossip rags, takes on a lot of good causes and uses her influence as a pop star positively. She’s performing at The Filmore this Sunday! Tickets are $25 bucks.

On to the interview!

DK: What was it like working with Chris Brown on “No Air”?
JS: IT WAS AMAZING. I HAD SUCH A GOOD TIME SHOOTING THE VIDEO. EVERY TIME THEY
YELLED ‘CUT!’ WE WOULD BUST OUT LAUGHING. I THINK HE’S IMMENSELY TALENTED
AND AM SO GLAD HE WAS ON THE SONG WITH ME.

DK: What is it like being so young and being viewed as such an influencer of
young women?
JS: IT’S SO COOL TO SEE MY FANS OF ALL AGES AND THEM SAY THEY LOOK UP TO ME.
IT’S VERY HUMBLING.

DK: It’s wonderful that you’re involved with X The TXT campaign. Please tell us
about the program.
JS: I GOT INVOLVED WITH ALLSTATE LAST YEAR WHEN THEY ASKED MY MOM AND ME TO BE A PART OF THEIR CAMPAIGN. WE TEAMED UP TOGETHER TO SHOW THAT TEXTING AND
DRIVING NOT ONLY EFFECTS PEOPLE MY AGE BUT MY MOM¹S GENERATION AS WELL. X
THE TXT IS ALL ABOUT STOPPING TEXTING AND DRIVING. IF THERE ARE HANDS FREE
LAWS AGAINST BEING ON A PHONE CALL WHILE DRIVING, IT ONLY MAKES SENSE TO
HAVE NO TEXTING LAWS. ITS JUST AS DISTRACTING, IF NOT MORE, THAN TAKING A
CALL BEHIND THE WHEEL. IT’S ALL ABOUT MAKING OUR STREETS SAFER. CURRENTLY,
ALLSTATE X THE TXT IS ON TOUR WITH ME AND WE HAVE A BOOTH WHERE MY FANS AND
PARENTS CAN TAKE THE PLEDGE TO NOT TEXT AND DRIVE. IF THEY CANT MAKE IT TO A
SHOW, THEY CAN TAKE THE PLEDGE AT FACBOOK.COM/THUMBSUPPLEDGE.

DK: What’s the trick to maintaining your sanity with such abrupt fame?
JS: MY FAMILY AND THE PEOPLE I SURROUND MYSELF WITH. HANDS DOWN.

DK: Who would you most like to work with?
JS: FERGIE, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, CELINE DION, DAVID ARCHULETA, ETC.

DK: What can Charlotte expect during your “The Battlefield” tour stop here?
JS: WELL, I DON’T HAVE CRAZY PROPS, A MILLION DANCERS OR INSANE COSTUMES. IT’S
JUST ME, MY BAND AND THE MUSIC. WE HAVE A BLAST UP ON THE STAGE SO I HOPE
YOU GUYS DO TOO!

DK: Do you have a favorite place here in Charlotte you like to visit while on
tour?
JS: I HAVEN’T HAD MUCH TIME TO EXPLORE THE CITIES I VISIT BUT HOPEFULLY THIS
TIME I’LL FIND SOME PLACE!

DK: What is your pre-show prep routine?
JS: I WARM UP, HAVE A FEW MEET N GREETS, DO MY OWN MAKEUP, GET DRESSED AND PRAY
WITH MY BAND.

DK: What’s the weirdest thing on your rider?
JS: MY RIDER IS ACTUALLY PRETTY NORMAL. CHIPS AND SALSA, APPLES, THROAT COAT
TEA, VEGGIE AND FRUIT PLATES. JUST SOME LIGHT STUFF. I CAN’T EAT BEFORE I
PERFORM. I FEEL LIKE I CAN¹T GET THE NOTES OUT AND PERFORMING ON A FULL
STOMACH IS NEVER A GOOD IDEA FOR ME ANYWAY. I EAT MAYBE JUST A FEW BITES TO
KEEP MY ENERGY UP AND THEN I’LL HAVE CHICKEN OR SOMETHING AFTERWARDS.

That’s it! Thank you Jordin, see you Sunday!

From Moira Quinn @ Center City Partners:

Food Lion Speed Street, the annual Uptown Charlotte event known for its racing theme, live performances and bags full of freebies, made recycling a top priority this year – with impressive results. More than 15 percent more waste was recycled than in 2009. Ultimately, just over 40 percent of all waste was recycled – a staggering 18.75 tons of cardboard, bottles, cans and grease that did not end up in a local landfill.

Across the board, recycling at Speed Street saw significant increases from the 2009 event.

Material

Garbage – 2009: 74.51%, 2010: 59.03%

Recycled cardboard – 2009: 15.97%, 2010: 22.45%

Recycled bottles/cans – 2009: 7.23%, 2010: 16.42%

Recycled grease – 2009: 2.29%, 2010: 2.09%

Total tonnage

Garbage – 2009: 74.51%, 2010: 59.03%

Recycling – 2009: 25.49%, 2010; 40.97%

The numbers reflect increased dedication to waste reduction and sustainable practices at high-traffic events. The International Special Events Society (ISES) recognized 2009’s Speed Street as the “Best Green Event” because of its then-nascent recycling program. This effort “paved the way for other Charlotte events to initiate a similar, large-scale recycling effort,” according to JHE Production Group, which organizes Speed Street.